If you love them, leave them at home. That’s the message from SCRAPS as dogs are being left inside hot cars this summer.
SCRAPS says the number of calls they’ve been getting for this has skyrocketed.
“We’re going through 10 to 12 calls easily a day – at Costco, at the mall, at the grocery store,” says Nancy Hill, director of SCRAPS.
That’s because they’ve seen people bringing their pets and leaving them unattended in their vehicle. This weekend, SCRAPS responded to a call where dogs were in obvious heat distress.
“The windows in the vehicle were almost all the way up. The dogs were so overheated they were down on the floorboards trying to hide under the dash just to get shade,” Hill says.
Think about it – on Sunday, we hit 96 degrees. And it doesn’t take your dog long to get overheated.
So how long does it take for a car to get hot? If it’s 85 degrees outside, the inside temperature of your car can jump to 104 degrees in just 10 minutes, according to SCRAPS.
Next time, either leave your pet at home or don't leave them unattended.
SCRAPS says they've been citing people for doing this and that's a $257 fine. Also, state law allows SCRAPS or law enforcement to break into a car to save animals, but not a regular citizen. So if you see an animal left in a car, call SCRAPS (509) 477-2533 or 911 immediately.
(story and photo: Katie Chen, KHQ.com)